Archive for Player Comparison

There’s a lot of hype being bestowed upon the Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill, and it makes sense considering the numbers he posted late in the season (final 8 games):

Receiving – 39 catches for 359 yards and 2 TD

Rushing – 16 carries for 222 yards and 3 TD

He found his niche, and the Chiefs exploited it. The question is if he can consistently make these types of big plays, especially with opposing defenses now being able to focus on him. Gone is Jeremy Maclin, meaning the only receiver that could draw defenses attention is tight end Travis Kelce. Instead opposing defensive coordinators will scheme ways to contain Hill, and whether he can produce despite that remains to be seen. Read more

In the early ADP it appears that fantasy owners prefer the Saints’ Michael Thomas (15.5) over the Raiders’ Amari Cooper (22.0). All you have to do is look at our rankings (click here to view our early Top 40 WR) to see that we have Cooper ahead, though just slightly, as they come in at #7 and 8. The two are actually in fairly similar situations, but let’s take a look at why we have them ordered this way.

In a year in which we’re told how thin the top of the running back group is and how fast they are going to go, everyone is looking for the next big thing. That guy they can grab in round 6 or 7 like Stevan Ridley last season who will pay big dividends if they miss out early.

With so many people looking for that same type of guy it has brought an awful lot of attention this season to the rookie running back group. There are right around 6 – 7 different rookie backs being taken in standard leagues. However there are two specific guys being taken in those middle rounds that we are going to focus on, it would be three, but Le’Veon Bell falls off the list with his injury.

Just because Montee Ball and Eddie Lacy weren’t taken in the first round of the NFL Draft doesn’t mean they don’t have fantasy value. Both guys wound up in somewhat favorable situations and both are in line to have pretty good fantasy value this year. Each guy is also being taken mostly as 3rd, sometimes even 2nd running backs. The question is which one do you want first? Read more

Five years ago and you wouldn’t have seen any tight ends being talked about among the top 25 players in fantasy football. Now we have a couple of guys in that late second round/early third round mix and it’s certainly an interesting topic.

Jimmy Graham or Rob Gronkowski? Which one should be taken first? Whichever one you think should be taken first, how high should they go? The argument isn’t that these guys are necessarily equal to the receivers you can take at this point. The argument is there is a much bigger drop off at tight end if you wait a couple extra rounds then at wide receiver.

These are good questions and there important questions, because how you view the answer to these can have a big impact on how your draft shakes out. I’m going to start by breaking down each of this year’s top two tight ends and then we’ll discuss which one should be taken first and where they should go. Read more

For the last six years Wes Welker has been the kind of the New England Patriots receiving corp and the favored target for Tom Brady year in and year out. In the last six seasons Welker has topped 110 catches in five of six seasons as well as going over 1,100 yards in five of six seasons. The times they are changing though.

Wes Welker has left New England and signed with Denver. In response to Welker’s departure comes a receiver who has been compared to Welker many times in the last few years. Leaving the Rams and coming to the Patriots is the undersized and sure handed Danny Amendola who is expected to step right into the shoes left by Welker.

Now the important question is; which one is going to have the better fantasy season? This is what really matters isn’t it? Let’s start by looking at what each guy did last season:

The outcome of Fantasy football more than any other fantasy sport can be decided in the early rounds. As we all have grown to realize, many of the picks in the top three rounds end up being a lot better or worse than advertised. That is why I pose to you the question above, since it’s a choice fantasy owners will likely face early on draft day. Who has the higher ceiling and higher floor out of Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas?

Comparing these 2 players so far in their respective careers is basically like trying to split hairs. Both players had their ups and down over the first two years of their careers in 2010 and 2011, with Bryant showing a little more promise than Thomas. Then again, comparing Tim Tebow, who was Thomas’ QB in 2011, to Tony Romo who was Bryants’ QB in 2011, is like comparing Mark Sanchez to Tom Brady.

Thomas did break out in the 2011 post season with 10 catches for 297 yards and a TD in 2 games, and that was with Tebow. Moving forward to 2012, these two had as comparable numbers as you can possibly have. Bryant had 92 catches for 1,382 yards and 12 TD while Thomas had 94 catches for 1,434 yards and 10 TD. So how do can you possibly choose between these two studs that are 25 and younger? That’s what I am here to help you with. . I strongly believe that if you have the pleasure of choosing between these 2 studs there will be no disappointment, but I do think there is a clear choice and it is Dez Bryant.

Many NFL backfields no longer feature a single back, instead utilizing a committee in an effort to keep guys fresh. Generally, you still have a premier back, a clear-cut top option. In Carolina, that’s simply not the case.

DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart would probably be first round selections, if they weren’t on the same team. Instead, they are currently going in the second or third rounds (Williams’ ADP is 13.45 and Stewart’s is 30.24, according to Mock Draft Central).

No other team has two backs that owner’s value so highly. The Cowboys are the only other team with two running backs with ADP’s in the Top 65 (Felix Jones is 41.77 and Marion Barber is 63.78), but both are being selected after the Panthers’ pair.

The question for fantasy owners, however, isn’t which of the dynamic duo should be drafted first. What we need to determine is which will produce the bigger season and therefore have better value.

While neither Devin Hester (ADP of 95.48) nor Steve Breaston (ADP of 93.81) would be ideal starting WR in most formats, both players could prove valuable to your fantasy roster when all is said and done. Which player would make the better bench option? Let’s take a look.

After starting his career as a cornerback and return specialist (returning 11 kicks for TD between 2006 & 2007), the Bears wanted to get his speed on the offensive side of the ball. In 2007 he began lining up as a wide receiver, though was more of a decoy then a consistent target.

Last season he began to be more integrated into the offensive schemes. He amassed 51 catches for 655 yards and 3 TD. Those are solid numbers, especially when you consider that Kyle Orton was his QB, and he enters the 2009 season as a starter for the Bears.

As I’ve said before when discussing Eddie Royal (click here to read), Jay Cutler, who now mans the Bears QB position, completed 55 passes for 20+ yards and 7 for 40+ yards. Compare that to Orton’s 34 completions of 20+ yards and 3 completions of 40+ yards and you have to like Hester’s potential for the big play a whole lot more.

The difference with Breaston is that you know he is going to be the third receiver on his team, unless an injury or some other situation calls him into duty. When you play in an offense that boasts Larry Fitzgerald & Anquan Boldin, there’s not much you can do. Read more

I find writing about football and baseball to be too completely different animals. In baseball we have a lot of underlying statistics to help determine if a performance is for real, or maybe it is a little bit of an aberration. Things like Batting Average on Balls in Play or Strand Rate or whatever other sabermetric statistic you want to use that fans and writers can point to. In football, those things don’t really exist, or at least they are not as prevalent.

So, when I compare two players on the football side, I find it to be a little bit more subjective, especially when you are looking at players the quality of LaDanian Tomlinson and Matt Forte. These are two guys who are likely to be among the elite, sure-fire first round draft picks. I know in my recent Top 10 RB list I took some heat in ranking Forte so low, and I can guarantee that he is going to be bumped up when things are revised in the coming weeks. Will it be ahead of LT, however? Well, let’s just take a look.

What does Tomlinson really have working against him? The fact that he is 30-years old, the age that many star backs have hit the wall and begun to deteriorate? Is it the fact that he’s coming off the worst year of his career, having rushed for “just” 1,110 yards and 11 TD? Don’t forget about the 52 receptions for an additional 426 yards and 1 TD.

I find it funny that his “bad” season is a year that the majority of backs would love to enjoy. Read more